Phoenix Song
by SoleKangaroo
Summary: When Aerrow and the gang meet a skittish, orphaned teenage girl, they find out firsthand that there's always something more than meets the eye. Especially since her past could put all of Atmos in danger.


Meow.

Anyway, Storm Hawks was what I first planned on doing a fan fiction for, but finally after a (failed) Ratchet & Clank one, just starting a Naruto one, and coming up with the concept for a Jak one, I remembered Storm Hawks.

And I SQUEE'd.

So, yeah.

I wasn't able to watch very many episodes before CN stopped airing them, so I'll use YT now. Hopefully it helps.

I still don't know many terra names, so If there are any rabid Storm Hawks fans out there (Of which I'm quickly becoming) that know stuff like that, please tell me ^^;

Thank you, and if you haven't clicked the back button yet, please, do read on!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The rain poured down to the ground hard, leaving the ground a muddy mess, chilling the air to the point where every breath turned to vapor as soon as it left the safety of it's owner's mouth. Lightning flashed across the sky. Thunder cracked four seconds later, echoing far across the land. Normally, Citadel would have found the scene beautifully breathtaking. Normally, she would've watched the scene, curled up in her mother's lap, her father stroking her burgundy hair, from the safety of indoors. But her parents were dead. Killed. Murdered.

Citadel crouched down behind a boulder, peeking around it to make sure she hadn't been spotted. Her heart pounded in her throat, and the tears seared down her cheeks, a strong contrast to the bitterly cold rain. Her thin dress was completely soaked through and sticking to her frail body, chilling her to the bone. Lightning flashed again, and Citadel bolted from the spot, sprinting for a clump of trees not far away. Her footing slipped once, twice, and on the third slip, she fell into the earth. Mud slicked against her raw face, into her eyes. She shakily lifted herself onto all fours. A few sobs escaped her throat as she stared down at the indent her body had made in the soggy ground.

'Why?'

Something made her jump, and her head shot up, eyes flickering wildly from side to side. She couldn't see anything. A bolt of lightning that had to have been directly above her head illuminated her vision for an instant, but it didn't help. She looked around, almost expecting her parents to be there, arms open, the situation she was currently in only being a bad nightmare. But it was real. She was alone. A fresh bout of tears stung her eyes and made her nose run. Citadel slowly stood, ready to bolt at any sign of danger. She knew she was being followed. She didn't know, however, where her pursuers were, how close they were, how many there were, or even what they looked like. She just knew she couldn't let them catch her. She couldn't.

She couldn't leave. Even if she did manage to escape the search for her, she knew there was no way for her to leave the terra. She barely knew how to fly any of the skimmers or ships located in the many hangars across Cyclonia. And even if she could get to one, she knew she'd be spotted then.

Citadel cautiously stepped to the cover of the trees, constantly looking over her shoulder as she did so. Slipping behind the trees, she relaxed, but only slightly. The trees provided a little shelter from the cold rain, but she was so soaked, it didn't make any difference at all. Citadel wove carefully around the trees, testing the ground before she walked to make sure she didn't trip, or her foot didn't sink down into the wet earth. She'd grown accustomed to not being able to see anything because of the darkness, only getting dim glimpses of her surroundings from lightning flashes. So, she was naturally a bit startled when she saw the faint yellow glow of lights ahead, making the silhouettes of trees visible. Citadel nearly ran out towards the light, but managed to stop herself, for fear that there's be someone waiting for hear. As she neared the light, she was slowly able to make out where she was stepping, so she could move faster. But with the renewed speed, she was also quieter. Seeing where she stepped helped her avoid walking on branches or stumbling over herself. Citadel slipped out from behind the last row of trees, and found herself facing a hangar, about five hundred feet away. Relief and hope surged through her, and she started running towards it, this time forgetting to check around her and to be stealthy. Suddenly, a flash of red light appeared towards her left and tore through the air, headed straight towards her. Citadel tried to outrun it, but merely managed to move away just enough for the bolt to graze her back. Pain seared through her, and she screamed out and collapsed. The acrid scent of burnt skin and cloth drifted to her nose, and that combined with the intense pain made her vomit. Her vision was blurred, but she could slightly make out a figure moving towards her at a leisurely pace.

"Well, well. Found you."

Citadel instantly recognized the purring voice. She tensed and curled her body up defensively. She hissed when the pain ripped through her, making her feel woozy all over again.

It was the same man who had murdered her parents directly in front of her. Red eyes glinted cruelly at her with a sense of triumph to them.

"Now, you shouldn't be so rude to people. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" As he said it, Citadel watched his expression change from one of amusement to rage. He grabbed her by the front of her dress and jerked her upright to glare at her directly. The abrupt movement made Citadel cry out sharply and glare back at him just as furiously.

"You're lucky Cyclonis wants you brought back alive," he hissed out. "With the way you managed to run from me for that long, I'd have killed you already if it were up to me."

He threw her back down onto the wet ground. Pain shot through her as she felt the familiar rush of electricity pulse through her veins.

'No, not again.'

She desperately tried to will the feeling away, to no avail.

"He didn't say I couldn't rough you up a bit, though." His lips curled back into a half grin, half snarl as he lifted his pulsing red, double-bladed sword above her.

Citadel felt the sudden snap of energy, and everything went white for a moment. Her skin was burning hot and buzzing with the raw energy crackling around her in a sort of orange shield.

Regaining her vision after the flash of light, she saw the black-haired man nearly fifty feet away from her on the ground. She heard a snarl rip its way from his chest as he jumped back up onto his feet. His sword pulsed brighter red, and she watched as he began to charge her, blade lifted to her.

"I might just not be able to keep myself from killing you," he snarled out as he ran at her.

Citadel heard another crackle of energy, but this time it wasn't her. A shot of blue-white struck the red-eyed man in the arm. It barely nicked him, as it was obviously a much weaker attack than anything the man or Citadel could do, but it effectively distracted him. He spun around to face whoever had the gall to attack him. Citadel also turned to see who her possible 'savior' was. She saw two men standing a ways off. One was much shorter and stouter than the other, but he was wielding the small cannon-like weapon that had created the blast. Citadel recognized the taller, silver-haired man as a friend of her father's in the Cyclonian army. They'd been in the same unit, and were close friends. Citadel felt instant relief seeing the familiar man, because, not only did she know he was a naturally kind man, but he was here, helping her.

"Just who do you think you are," the black-haired man roared out. "I'm finishing my business, and you'll pay for interrupting me!" He lifted his blade against the stout man with the cannon. The stout man aimed his weapon and shot a blast at the murderer. The murderer easily blocked it and launched himself into the air, lifting his blade up to strike the stout man from above. Citadel tried to get up, but was stopped both by the pain from her wound, and her father's friend reaching underneath her head and knees to lift her up. Relief cascaded through her, feeling the gentle way he ran with her towards the hangar. A blast of red made Ciel look in the direction of where the murderer and stout man were, but she saw another flash of blue, and turned her attention back to the man carrying her.

"Lar," Citadel sobbed out, calling the man by the nickname, short for Eleazar, she'd had for him since she was able to talk. "They're dead, they're dead." Her voice shook, from a mix of fear and sorrow, and because of the slight way her body was being jostled by Eleazar's running.

"I know, I know, Della," Eleazar responded, avoiding her pained gaze.

He also used her nickname, mostly to try to comfort her. They were just a few seconds from the hangar now. Citadel turned forward as the building loomed ahead of them. A sudden bolt of lightning made her jump in Eleazar's arms. The bolt and Citadel's movement made him stumble slightly. His foot caught and twisted in the soft earth, and the two fell forward. Hitting the ground made Citadel cry out in pain, both from the impact, and from her previous wound. Eleazar started to get up and reach for her again, but a shock of red visible in the corner of his eye made him lurch forward to grab ahold of Citadel. He wrapped his arms quickly around her and rolled the two of them out of the way of the bolt. He quickly set Citadel down, who was reeling in pain from the renewed impact on her wound, and slipped his own weapon out from the pocket at his back. It was a large chain with a claw- like projection at the end. He held the weapon ready in his hand as the black-haired man slowly approached, sword pulsing waves of red. Eleazar twisted the handle of his weapon, and the claw flashed blue instantly, then dimmed slightly to pulsate cyan. He crouched slightly in front of Citadel, ready to fight if the black-haired man made any move to attack. Instead, the murderer seemed to circle around his targets, much like a vulture would its next meal. Citadel could see the slumped body of the stout man a way's back from the black-haired man.

"You're so ready to defend her, even though it means you lose your life?" At Eleazar's nod, he leaned forward slightly, gripping his sword in front of him. "Very well. Prepare to die."

The murderer launched himself forward, as did Eleazar. Their weapons clashed together with a sharp metallic sound and a flash of white light. Citadel watched, wide-eyed, in horror as the murderer's blade came around and struck Eleazar's left shoulder, leaving a deep gash that bled profusely. Eleazar jumped far back and swung his weapon out at the black-haired man. The man simply raised his blade and struck out at the claw, expecting it to deflect. The claw suddenly latched onto the blade, and Eleazar pulled the chain back fiercely. The man held tight to his sword, though, and pulled back with a stronger force than Eleazar could manage. The chain ripped out from his hand. Citadel gasped.

'No.'

Eleazar heard the small sound she'd made, and turned to her.

'Run,' he mouthed to her as the black-haired man pulled the claw from his sword and aimed the blade back to Eleazar.

He turned back to face the murderer, and making it clear that his word was a demand, he charged fully at his opponent. Citadel felt adrenaline skitter through her body, and she found herself rising slowly from the ground. She didn't even feel the pain from her wound anymore, she was focusing so much on the battle in front of her. The man stood his ground as Eleazar ran at him. Then he suddenly jumped at Eleazar and swung his sword out. Eleazar slid down, angling his body back to avoid the energy laden blade, aiming for his opponent's legs. The man jumped up, keeping Eleazar from knocking him down. Landing back down, he spun around to face Eleazar, who jumped back up quickly. But not quick enough. The murderer swung his blade out to slice deeply into Eleazar's back. Watching Eleazar fall forward limply, the adrenaline flowing through Citadel's veins spiked, and she turned and bolted. Her bare feet skittered across the mud, this time, not getting stuck or stumbling about.

Citadel felt a prickle rise up in her spine. She threw her body down to her right, rolling over in a somersault, and jumped lightly back onto her feet, breaking back into a sprint. She'd narrowly avoided a blast of red electricity sent her way by the murderer. Citadel felt a burning sensation in her lungs as it became harder to get oxygen to her muscles, and the sharp pain in her back was a constant throbbing, but she forced herself to keep running. The hangar was so close, yet it seemed like she'd never reach it. She was suddenly jerked to a stop as a vise-like grip closed down around her left arm. She was spun around to meet the burning crimson of the murderer's eyes, and the electrical red of his sword held dangerously close to her throat; She could feel the searing heat radiating off of it. Citadel's blood crackled violently. A pulse of energy shot out from her. The man was again thrown back, but not nearly as far as before. He was still in range of her. He regained his footing and swung his sword before Citadel could regain her vision. The searing blade struck the left side of her face, but it wasn't nearly as powerful an attack as the first encounter she'd had with the weapon, the energy still buzzing around her blocking most of the blade from slicing through her skin. Citadel screamed in pain and clutched at her face. She felt a boiling hot liquid run between her fingers and down her arms. The pain was unbelievable. Everything went white again, for several seconds this time.

Somehow, the electricity crackling around Citadel's body leaked into her blood, dulling the pain in her new and old wounds. The energy seemed to control her as well. Her hands dropped down, and she turned towards the hangar. She couldn't see at all through her left eye, and her vision was slightly blurry through her right, but the energy seemed to know where to take her. It was painfully bright inside the hangar. As Citadel stepped inside, she heard voices exclaim in shock. She heard footsteps approaching quickly and voices demanding she stop where she was. Citadel's right hand lifted up of its own will, and she felt the familiar prickle crackle up her spine and down her outstretched arm. She heard the sound of bodies hitting the floor and metal. Her vision was clear enough in her right eye for her to make out the shapes of several skimmers not far away from her. She immediately approached the nearest one to her, and climbed up into it. She gripped the handles tightly.

Citadel knew enough from secret lessons from her father how to start a skimmer and how to engage its flight mode. She decided that was all she needed to get out of there. She pushed the kickstand back, and simultaneously gripping the right handle tighter and turning it back. Relief washed over her when the skimmer roared to life. The rush of electricity was beginning to fade, and she could feel the pain in her left eye and back slowly becoming more and more noticeable. She knew that she'd have to get out fast and find somewhere to go, because the longer she went without medical attention, the more there was a risk of her suffering permanent damage, or even dying. She quickly turned the handle backwards, and the skimmer lurched forward. It roared down towards the open end of the hangar, speeding up more and more with the harder pressure Citadel gripped the handle with. As soon as the skimmer shot out of the hangar, she slammed her left hand down on the button that engaged flight. The two wheels retracted into the bottom of the skimmer, leaving her suspended in the air momentarily. The v-shaped wings shot out from the sides, immediately catching air underneath to lift the skimmer up into the air. She pulled back on the handles to lift the skimmer higher and higher up. Citadel suddenly got the feeling of danger, and she jerked sideways, skimmer following her move and turning around completely.

She saw another skimmer a ways off. The shock of red flaring up from the driver's right hand revealed just who it was. He was quickly approaching Citadel. Citadel lifted her left hand, and revved the engine of the skimmer with her right. She sped quickly towards him as the familiar orange electricity crackled around her left hand. The energy molded itself into the shape of a blade just before the two reached each other. Citadel's 'blade' struck her opponent's with a deafening crack and explosion of light. Her skimmer was thrown to the side from the blast in a barrel roll. Citadel held tight until she regained control over the skimmer. She didn't turn to see if the man was following behind as she revved the engine and put it into full gear ahead. She needed to get out of there. Fast. A few times she had to jerk the skimmer sideways to avoid any blasts he would send toward her. The two vehicles were staying the same length apart. Any time she accelerated, he would as well, but he'd always hang back a bit, as if he were toying with her. She got an idea and dipped the front end down a bit, then pulled her body back as far as she could manage without falling off. The skimmer went directly up, engine sputtering as it did so. Citadel felt fear grip her tightly, but the skimmer turn all the way back to where it was upside-down before the engine could give out. She reached her left hand out again, 'blade' quickly appearing around it. The murderer managed to lift his sword up in attempt to defend himself, being caught off guard by her surprisingly skilled maneuver; He'd obviously expected something like it, but hadn't thought she'd be able to accomplish the feat. Instead of striking at her opponent's blade, Citadel moved her skimmer dangerously close to his. She veered to the side at the last second, passing directly by him. As she did so, she slammed her left fist into the side of his skimmer. The electricity around her hand sliced easily into her opponent's vehicle with a horrid screeching sound.

Smoke billowed from the gaping hole she'd created, and the man's skimmer started falling rapidly to the earth far below. Citadel righted her skimmer back onto her path, and looked down, watching as the murderer was ejected from his seat. A set of gliders appeared from somewhere on his back, and he began the much slower descent to the ground. Citadel turned away, not caring what happened to him.

She focused on the task she now had at hand: To get away from Cyclonia and find somewhere where she could be safe.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Yeah...

That was LONG.

I was not expecting it to be like that.

My head and back hurt now.

Anyway, some stuff about Citadel:

She's eight in this chapter. It might not seem like it with the way she fought Dark Ace, but that was her survival instinct kicking in.

About the orange energy thing: She's like a living crystal, with an ability to project a shield around her, or, occasionally, use it as a weapon. That's the whole reason Dark Ace was after her. He was trying to capture her for Master Cyclonis( NOT the 14 year old girl. This chapter takes place eight years before the actual series is set.), because he wanted to harness her power into weapons. Her parents were killed trying to stop this from happening. Her father was in the Cyclonian army, which explains how Cyclonis found out about it.

I got the idea for her name from her parent's names: Luna is her mother, Cronus is her father. I started thinking about those names, and I found it funny how Luna reminded me of the moon( HHHMMMMM. I WONDER why that is.), and Cronus of the sun. Then I thought about an old Native American myth where the sun and moon had a child together: The Earth. And I was like, "Hmmmm.... What sky-related term is similar to 'Earth'???"

And I thought of 'Citadel', because when I think of a citadel, I think of a large floating fortress thingy, and yeah, I picked that name, and... Yeah...

*Gets kicked*

Ow.

And I find it a little sad that I had more trouble coming up with a summary than writing this whole chapter


End file.
